


More Than Just a Job

by friendlyneighborhoodsecretary



Series: I'm Never Prompt with Prompts [10]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: But here it is, Drabble, F/M, Light Pepperony, More of a Rambling Character Study than a Fic, Pre-Canon, Pre-Iron Man 1, Slight Fluff and Little Substance, tumblr prompt fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 22:27:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21996388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/friendlyneighborhoodsecretary/pseuds/friendlyneighborhoodsecretary
Summary: The greatest duty of a personal assistant is to stand up for one’s charge even when they can’t—or won’t—stand up for themselves. Or to themselves. Perhaps especially when they won’t stand up to themselves.
Relationships: Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, pre-Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Series: I'm Never Prompt with Prompts [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1558726
Comments: 4
Kudos: 30





	More Than Just a Job

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the prompt: The first time they stand up for you/you stand up for them (Pepperony).
> 
> That said, I went a wee bit off-book with this one because Pepper and Tony's relationship is so gradual. I'm not sure either of them could define a single, obvious moment during all their years together, but there are lots of quiet little moments!

It seems to Pepper that the bulk of her job revolves around saying no to various people with various levels of menace. The ink on her employment contract barely has time to dry before she’s whisked into the world of Tony Stark and the many, many exasperating refusals that come with working for him.

_No,_ to the clandestine interviews and hefty bribes offered by paparazzi vultures who refuse to elaborate on where they got her number.

_No_ , to the delicately phrased requests from board members angling for a good word from the big boss.

_No,_ to the demands of “just five minutes of his time,” to the maneuverings of colleagues and crooks alike, no to the requests for more than she realizes Tony can give during the weeks he locks himself in the lab to pour his concentration into whatever new distractions he’s cooked up to pull his own attention from whatever it is that hides behind the slick tabloid mask. And perhaps most frequently, _no_ —often growled through gritted teeth—to the man himself.

It wasn’t that Pepper hadn’t expected that eventuality when she signed on. The greatest duty of a personal assistant is to stand up for one’s charge even when they can’t—or won’t—stand up for themselves. Or to themselves. Perhaps _especially_ when they won’t stand up to themselves. Pepper knows that going into the job, but it still strikes her as all kinds of bizarre that a man like Tony Stark could need quite so much defending.

It makes sense when she’s fending off predatory journalists or the sharks from opposing legal teams or opportunistic board members who’ll do all they can to take a bite out of Tony given half a chance to further their own claims. And it’s easy—she was _born_ for that sort of fight. Those little skirmishes keep her busy certainly, and sure, they become irritating enough if some idiot decides to be persistent, but there’s very little challenge in it. Keeping Tony safe from _himself_ , however, is another matter.

Sometimes she despairs of keeping that man alive long enough to hit forty. Mostly because he himself doesn’t seem all that interested in surviving to that milestone. Still, a duty’s a duty, and Pepper is no slacker. And if no one else will stand up to Tony Stark…she has no qualms about doing it herself.

Sometimes it’s the little things. The abject refusal to order any lunch that doesn’t include at least half a plate of something green. The insistence that _no_ , she _won’t_ have housekeeping send up another bottle of champagne to his hotel room, and that he can have a pitcher of ice water or nothing. Sometimes, it’s the mysterious way the lab lights keep blinking out at roughly the hour Pepper had told him he should go to bed if he doesn’t want to be a wreck at the meeting the next morning. Sometimes it’s the half hour verbal sparring matches about the risks he takes when he goes out on the town. It’s a million little acts of fond defiance that simply can’t be done without adding up to more than a professional relationship. Without Pepper coming to care about a great deal more than just her job.

Granted, there are plenty of times when that isn’t enough. When the force of nature that is Tony Stark is far too set on his course to be headed off or stood up to—or _for_ , depending on how you look at it—even by the equal force that Pepper Potts has established herself as.

But that will never stop her from trying.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Feel free to drop a comment with any thoughts you have or stop by and say hello on [Tumblr](https://friendlyneighborhoodsecretary.tumblr.com/)


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